Tag Archives: new orleans saints

CFL, NFL

Johnson, Will

Card: Jogo 1992
Acquired: TTM 1993, CFL Blitz

Will Johnson was originally a 5th round choice of the Chicago Bears back in 1987 out of Northeast Louisiana. He’d be one of only 5 picks by the Bears that season- which included Ron Morris and Jim Harbaugh. A tweener at 6’4″,  245 playing linebacker, Johnson would play briefly in only one game his rookie season, but would be cut in 1988.  1989 would be no less fortunate to Johnson playing in New Orleans. He’d be cut out of camp as hamstring injuries would limit his performance. Will would sign with the Canadian Football League in 1989 and play for the Calgary Stampeders, quickly asserting himself as a wrecking ball of destructive force at defensive end. With great speed and gigantic wingspan, Johnson became the prototypical defensive end for players of that era in the Canadian Leagues. By 1991, Will was now a CFL All Star- an honor he held through the 1995 season.  Will also won a Grey Cup Championship with the Stamps in 1992.  In 1994, Johnson led the CFL in sacks with 17 despite double and triple teams, and in 1996 he’d be named to the Stampeders 50th Anniversary Dream Team. After his 1996 with the Stampeders, Johnson would play one more additional season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before retiring after the 1997 season with 99 sacks.

Since retiring, Johnson has used his long arms to become a member of law enforcement, where he is a constable for the Calgary Police Department. Will has spent some time coaching minor league football and also has delved into refereeing. In 2010 Johnson was also inducted into the Calgary Stampeders Wall of Honor.

G/Gs  N/a     Tac  288     Sac  99    Fum   11     Int   N/a     Yds   N/a    Avg  N/a   Td  N/a   Lg  N/a

CFL, NFL, WLAF

Garrett, Jason

Cards: Pro Set 1991, Pro Set WLAF 1991
Acquired: In Person 1993, 1994, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp
Failure:  TTM 2010, C/o Dallas Cowboys
See Also: Jason Garrett (2)

A free agent signee of the New Orleans Saints back in 1989, Jason Garrett would hang on with the team through the 1990 season.

The WLAF San Antonio Riders would draft Garrett to be their starting quarterback but he’d separate his shoulder in the season opener against the Orlando Thunder and within a few weeks Mike Johnson would be firmly entrenched as the starter. (While Garrett would return to start games 7 and 8, Johnson would end the season as the San Antonio Riders encumbent, winning all their games as a starter going 4-2 for the team.)  Jason would not return to the WLAF after the season, and finish his career there with a 71 quarterback rating.

After a brief stint in the CFL for the Ottawa Roughriders, Garrett would be signed by the Dallas Cowboys where he would back up Troy Aikman. Initially a 3rd stringer, I was not high on the move by the team, however he performed well for the Cowboys over the next 8 seasons. During his time on the Cowboys, I’d get his autograph on these two ProSet WLAF cards. He’d be a premium backup policy through the rest of his career, seeing stints with the Giants (2000-03), Buccaneers and Dolphins (2004) before retiring.

Garrett is a student of the game and was immediately in demand as a quarterbacks coach. He quickly transitioned into the role for the Dolphins and served there for two seasons through 2006. Jason would return to Dallas (where clan Garrett is based now), and became offensive coordinator scaling the ranks of the organization. He was named interim head coach in 2010 after Wade Phillips was dismissed midway through the season, and at the conclusion of the season had the tag removed to become Dallas’ 8th head coach.

I sent off for all of clan Garrett (Jason, Judd, and John) last season, but did not hear back from them. As Jason only has 1 card (Ultimate WLAF 1992) that I do not have an his autograph on, I may try this again at a later date. Listed below are his WLAF statistics:

G/Gp  5/3    Att  113      Comp  66         Yds  609             Pct 58.9         Td  3      Int 3          Rat  71.0

NFL

Smith, Darrin

Card: Classic 1993
Acquired: In Person 1993, Dallas Cowboys Training Camp

Originally a product from “The U”, who played alongside future NFL stars Micheal Barrow and Jessie Armstead, Darrin Smith was an undersized, yet speedy linebacker with good pursuit. (The Cowboys loved drafting linebackers during the 90s, but they didn’t really display any interest in keeping them. See Godfrey Myles, Dixon Edwards, and Ken Norton.) Smith would start almost immediately at weakside linebacker for the team after being drafted in the 3rd round, helping Dallas win SuperBowls XXVIII and XXX.  He’d be cast out of Dallas unceremoniously after not being able to sign a long term deal in 1997.

Darrin would move to the rival Philadelphia Eagles for one nondescript season before heading over to Seattle where Smith would play admirably for two seasons before becoming a salary cap casualty.  But like a fine wine, Darrin Smith’s best time was arguably in his final years playing for the New Orleans Saints from 2000-2004 where after he retired. Since retiring from football Darrin has operated a real estate company and is a devoted Christian.

Thankfully Classic got rid of the leopard print look and went with a more subtle, polished granite look for the border of its cards by 1993. The draft logo was a nice touch that nobody was utilizing, but Classic in general at the time suffered from probably too little information being displayed on their cards. The information on the back had what team they were taken by in the draft. Why not place this information on the front in some respect?  I also did not like Classic’s penchant for changing its logo completely nearly every year. That’s just not how you drive brand visibility. Nice photos though, front and back typically, and this Darrin Smith one is a great example of that. Classic was really hit or miss with their cards as far as prospects went and while they were usually first, I preferred Star Pics almost immediately because I could buy a whole set at once and not pay an incredible amount.

G/Gs 156/140       Tac  584      Sac 24.0    Fum  3    Int 11   Yds 155    Avg  14.0   Td 4   Lg 41t